‘A bet for sure’: Canucks’ Lankinen parlays show-me deal into extension
After listening to his heart, the goaltender parlayed a one-season roll of the dice into a five-year, $22.5-million contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks.
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LAS VEGAS — In the gambling capital of the world, no one won more Friday by betting on himself than Kevin Lankinen.
After listening to his heart — beating even louder than his biological clock as a professional hockey player — the goaltender parlayed a one-season roll of the dice into a five-year, $22.5-million contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks.
That’s $21.625 million more than Lankinen is earning this season on his show-me deal after the Finn, at age 29, decided last summer it was going to be now or never in his quest to become something more than a National Hockey League backup.
“I’ll just tell you that I left a lot of money on the table last summer to find the right opportunity,” Lankinen said here after the Canucks’ Friday practice ended with him leading the team stretch (and getting chirped by teammates over his sudden riches).
“I didn’t want to just be satisfied in a clear backup role, but instead challenge myself and kind of see where my potential can go. I think it was a little bit of a bet for sure. But at the same time, I had full trust in my abilities and the process that I’ve been committed to over the last 5-10 years.
“I was just focused on finding a real opportunity for myself to showcase my abilities. That’s why I made the decision, even in January last year, not to re-sign with Nashville but go out and explore kind of the unknown. In the summer, I turned down some offers that didn’t feel right, didn’t feel like a good opportunity. And then when we started talking with the Canucks, I felt like there was something there. Obviously, how things have turned out has been amazing. I guess I was looking for the opportunity, and I got it, so I’m thankful for that.”
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But having turned down those free-agent offers after July 1, including the Predators’ invitation for him to continue in Nashville as Juuse Saros’ backup, Lankinen did not sign with the Canucks until Sept. 21.
When training camps opened, he was a goalie without a team.
The Canucks, facing an uncomfortable truth that starting goalie Thatcher Demko may be unavailable for months due to the troubling knee injury he suffered last April, outwaited Lankinen and eventually signed him to that bargain $875,000 insurance policy.
Not only did the four-year veteran backup immediately displace Canucks prospect Arturs Silovs as the interim starter, but Lankinen then outperformed Demko when last year’s Vezina Trophy runner-up made it back to the lineup in December.
In 34 games, Lankinen is 19-8-7 with a save percentage of .905. He has collected points in 26 of his 34 appearances, which is a key reason the Canucks, despite myriad problems this season, still hold a wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference as the NHL schedule break ends Saturday with Vancouver visiting Vegas.
It’s also the reason Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, with Demko now on his third injury absence this season, re-signed Lankinen to starting-goalie money ahead of the March 7 NHL trade deadline.
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With a couple of signatures, the risk in the relationship between the Canucks and Lankinen has shifted to the team from the goalie. Allvin clearly believes Lankinen’s breakthrough role this season is sustainable. And he knows that the Canucks will need him, given Demko’s history of injuries.
Demko, also 29, has another season after this one under contract at $5 million. The Canucks feel they have two starting goalies, even if there is only one crease. But it is too early to declare that Lankinen will be the last one standing in Vancouver.
Demko could come back and play his way back to elite form. He has done it before, and was playing his best hockey this season when he took himself out of the Canucks’ 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs two weeks ago.
But the Canucks have options, and probably a stronger bargaining position should Demko demand to be paid on his next contract like one of the top goalies in the world, which he was before he hurt his knee 10 months ago.
“From my end, it’s not going to change anything,” Lankinen said. “I think me and Thatcher are going to keep pushing each other to get better every single day and, by that, we’re going to help the team win. I’m really happy working with Thatcher this year, and I know what kind of great goalie he is. He’s one of the best goalies out there, and I’ve learned a tonne already from him. So I think it’s a win-win situation for both him and I, and the team as well.”
Lankinen said Demko reached out to him during the Four Nations tournament when Lankinen was playing for Team Finland.
The reassurance of having Lankinen to replace Demko was reinforced Friday when both centre Elias Pettersson and star defencemen Quinn Hughes left the Canucks’ practice after only a few minutes on the ice.
Coach Rick Tocchet, who brought a Team Canada gold medal back from the seminal Four Nations event, described Pettersson’s status as day-to-day and said it appeared Hughes is still not quite ready to play after sustaining an undisclosed injury on Jan. 31.
It’s impossible to say where exactly the Canucks would be in the standings without Lankinen, but definitely not in a playoff position with 27 games to go.
“I just feel really fueled and recharged by the opportunity in the Four Nations,” Lankinen said. “That kind of taught me — a good reminder — what I need to work on to be able to be elite. So a great learning experience. I was able to have a couple days off and kind of put my mind together and recharge. And I feel great being here around the boys again and ready to go.
“I’m extremely happy that I’m in Vancouver. Ever since Day 1, I felt at home here — just with the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff and the city, which is such a unique city to live in. So I’m really happy and thankful for the trust and the opportunity from management. The commitment. But at the same time, I just get more fire and more burn out of this because I know that we’ve got a lot to accomplish this year and the years moving forward.”
After two seasons in Nashville, and two before that in Chicago, Lankinen knew this was the time to bet on himself.
“Like, if I stuck in a backup role for another two or three years, it might have been harder to find a starting job later on,” he agreed. “Obviously, you never know what happens, but the timing felt right. I had a good vision and a good feeling in my gut about my own abilities. I just trusted that.”
